André's Victoire Voyage

André's Victoire Voyage

The project

André rides his bike daily since he is a student. In the 90's, he has started to be a randonneur , riding for several days in the French mountains. He contacted us to build a bespoke touring bike both light and comfortable to ride on asphalt and unpaved roads. The performance is also important for him, that's why he wants to limit the load. It will be the bikepacking option most of the time, or the Extrawheel trail for heavier loads. He also uses sometimes a light rear rack like a Tubus Fly.

Specifications

We would naturally go for a steel fork in such a project, but André insisted to get a carbon fork to save some grams. So we had to adapt the geometry to get a comfortable position, with only a 15mm drop between the saddle and the handlebar, while keeping well balanced proportions. We use a headutbe that fits the complete length of the steerer tube. To suits our client's needs, we selected Tange Prestige tubing with a 34.9mm down tube and a 31.7mm top tube. They are really thin at their center - only 0.4mm - so the frame weight only 2000g. The seat tube is thicker at the top with an external diameter of 30mm in order to support the stresses of a high saddle height. The bi-conical seatstays are from the Columbus SL range and bring some comfort.

For the equipment, André goes for the 1x11 SRAM Rival 1 groupset and Cantilever brakes. TheVelocity A23 rims are laced to Hope hubs and equipped with Compass Bon Jon Pass Extralight 35mm tires. They offer a high performance on the road while being really comfortable and safe when you want to go off the beaten paths. The bike weighs 8,9kg without pedals.

First tour

André went to our workshop to pick up his bike and immediatetly went for a 1200 km ride to go home, in the Pyrénnées. The first one but definitely not the last !